What does it mean when "PROTECTION" is flashing on my Toshiba HTIB?

9 times out of 10 when you see this message on a Sony or Toshiba home theater system it has to do with the wiring of the speakers. Somewhere in the system there are wires that are either:Wires are touching somewhere.Wires may be out of phase (meaning one end of the wire is correct, and the opposite end is opposite).Speaker's and Receiver's OHMs ratings don't match. Make sure you're speakers and receivers share the same ohm rating (look for an upside down horsehoe on the back of the speakers and receiver).You could have had your system wired backwards for a long time and may not have ever known it, the system has been receiving feedback from the speakers for a long time and finally has just given itself up.

Normally when this happens its a very costly repair (typically its the main amp that needs to be replaced).Try calling Toshiba directly and ask them about resetting the system, that's about all you can really do if it is still acting up after you check all the connections.

Surround Sound Help Please!?

My TV is a Sony KD-34XBR960, I have an XBOX 360 with HD DVD player. I'm looking to get a sound system, but don't want to blow anyone away. I just want great sound for games and movies.

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Depending on what you want to spend you have quite a few options. You've got a good TV and good source with the XBOX and HD DVD add on. Option #1 - Look at a component Home Theater System - Receiver, Surround Speaker Package, and Subwoofer. With this you'll be looking around $1000 and up. Keep an eye on the adds at Best Buy and they constantly advertise the Klipsch Quintet III surround System, with Sub and Receiver for $1000. You will be hard pressed to find a better deal. The Quintet surround package is the number one selling system in the entire country and has been rated very high by pretty much everyone.Option #2 - Home Theater in A Box (HTIB). This will save you a lot of money, and will give you a complete system for a great value. You can get a pretty good system starting at $400, and a very good HTIB for $700. Look into Yamaha, Denon, and Onkyo for HTIBs as they offer quite a few. These will come with a receiver, speakers, subwoofer, and a few even come with a DVD player that you could use in another room or as a CD player. Can get 5.1 to 7.1 surround sound out of these for movies and games.Option #3 - a 2.1 Speaker system. Samsung, LG, Philips, Denon and others offer 2.1 speaker systems. These will be a receiver, 2 speakers and subwoofer that will simulate surround sound using only 2 speakers and a subwoofer. These are great for small rooms, and sound great. I've got a Denon S101 in my bedroom, and use it for my PS2, DVDs, and Satellite. The cost on these however will be similar to an HTIB.I train home theater for a living, and educate consumers as wel as sales people on how to purchase and sell Home Theater.

Can't get 5.1 from my XBOX on my HTIB!

This question was posted on an answers site:
I've got an XBOX 360, and can't get 5.1 from my Panasonic HTIB because it doesn't have an optical input, what can I do? Do I need to buy a new system or what? My speaker wire is also in the wall.

My Response:

When it comes to Home Theater systems with DVD players built into them, this tends to be the number one complaint. Although you don't have an optical input on the unit, you do have the analog audio inputs (Right , White ) which you can connect the XBOX 360 to. It will not produce the 5.1 surround sound that the system is capable of, but it should have a surround mode for gaming, or general purpose that will make the gaming experience more complete. If you want to enhance the sound even more check out upgrading the Audio/Video cables to Monster Game Cables from Monster Cable, they will maximize your picture and sound to its best capabilities. Also if you want more of the surround experience use the Level settings on the system to raise the level of the Surround Speakers so that there is more active sound from behind you. If it really gets down to you wanting the optical input, you can switch out the receiver, and more than likely keep the existing speakers, or switch out the speakers as well since you have the wires run through the wall. But if you do that you will either end up using the XBOX360 as your DVD player, or purchase a DVD player as well. There are some really good HTIBs out there now for under $500, one in particular from Sony, comes with an up-converting DVD player, and HDMI connectivity on the receiver for future use as well.

How do I get my Digital Cable sound to my Bose 3-2-1, or HTIB?

This question was posted on an answers site:
How do I get the sound from my Digital Cable box to my Bose 3-2-1 system (also applicable for most any stereo)?

My Response:
There are a couple of different ways to do this, but the easiest is this:
For watching cable - on the back of your digital cable box you will have an audio output (red/white - left/right). Basically all you do there is connect that output to the input on your GS system and when you are watching anything on the cable box, the sound will then come through the GS.Your TV may have an audio output as well, if it does, then all you do is connect an audio cable from the TV audio output to the GS input and from there anything going through the TV would come out through the GS. I'm not a big fan of doing this though because if you watch your TV through Channel 3, it converts sounds to mono, even if you have a stereo TV. The best bet is to just run audio out of your sources like your cable box, VCR, etc. directly into the GS. Hope this helps.